


The Lies We Tell Ourselves

by realityisoverrated



Series: Infinite Love [182]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Anal Sex, F/M, M/M, Polyamory, Polyfidelity, Smoaking billionaires, Toliver, flommy, olicity - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-08-08 11:03:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16428137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realityisoverrated/pseuds/realityisoverrated
Summary: Felicity believes Oliver and Tommy are keeping secrets from her. She's beginning to wonder if there is an expiry date on their relationship experiment.





	The Lies We Tell Ourselves

**Author's Note:**

> This story depicts a polyamorous relationship between one woman and two men. If this is not something you are interested in, please stop and go no further.
> 
> This installment deals with the lead up to one of my favorite installments in this series, Burger and Lies.
> 
> This installment is 40/182. The chronological list for the series, with hyperlinks, can be found at  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/11051019

Artwork by ligiapimenta

 

Felicity unlocked the front door and ran straight for her home office. She was grateful she’d thought of swapping her high heels for sneakers when she’d left the office. With the luck she was having, she’d end up breaking her leg the very morning she was supposed to be demoing the prototype of the new holo tablet to all the QC department heads. She’d thought the prototype was in her bag when she’d left home that morning, but when she’d arrived at the office it wasn’t there. The holo tablet was going to be a make or break moment for her as the new head of Applied Science. If she didn’t find the tablet before the demo, she’d hold the record for the shortest tenure for the head of Applied Science in the history of QC.

The heavy cloud cover was diffusing the early morning light and she couldn’t tell one piece of tech apart from another on her messy desk. She turned the lights on and a small squeak of distress passed her lips. The holo tablet wasn’t on her desk. She dropped to her knees and looked under desk. No tablet. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the last time she’d seen it.

Breakfast.

Felicity ran to the kitchen, her eyes scanning the table and the counters. She felt a pang of guilt for leaving dirty dishes on the table for Oliver to clean up when he finally came downstairs. Even though she could see her empty coffee cup from that morning, there was no sign of the tablet.

“Think, Felicity,” she muttered to herself.

She’d been working with the tablet’s code while watching a movie in the living room the night before. She ran to the living room and growled with frustration when the tablet wasn’t on the coffee table. Felicity lifted the cushions on the sofa and stuck her fingers down the back and sides. She cursed their decision to buy the obscenely large brownstone. The only thing all the space was good for was losing her belongings.

Felicity glanced at the clock – she had a half hour before her demo was supposed to begin. She returned to the kitchen, certain it was the last place she had it. She sat at the table and stared at her coffee mug and cereal bowl.

Cereal.

Felicity jumped from her chair and ran for the closet. She pulled out the small step stool and pulled down her basket of scarves. Between the boxes of her sugary cereal was her tablet. She raised the tablet over her head with triumph. “Yes.”

She ran down the hallway towards the front door when a soft moan made her stop. Felicity strained her ears listening for the sound again. Oliver and Tommy should still be asleep – they’d both gotten home at dawn from their night jobs. She heard the moan again – it was unmistakably Tommy. Felicity glanced at the clock – she only needed ten minutes to get back to the office, and she was curious. It’d only been a few weeks since they’d started having sex in front of her and she’d found it unbelievably erotic.

Felicity quietly climbed the stairs. She didn’t have enough time to join them, but she did have time to give them a morning kiss and watch. Their bedroom door was open when she got to the top of the stairs. Tommy’s moans were louder, but still soft. Oliver’s voice was unintelligible as he murmured. She paused in the doorway of their room, unable to intrude on what she was witnessing.

Oliver and Tommy were on their sides, their backs to the door. Oliver was thrusting slowly into Tommy, their legs tangled together. Their left hands were threaded together over Tommy’s head. Oliver’s other hand was slowly stroking Tommy’s cock. Tommy’s knuckles were white from where he clutched Oliver’s ass.

Even in the dim light coming through their curtains, Felicity could see the shine of their skin and the sweat beading on their backs. Her throat went dry when Oliver’s tongue traced the line of Tommy’s spine. Oliver rotated his hips as he thrust.

“Ollie,” Tommy said, his head falling back, “so good.”

Oliver swirled his hips again, “Like that?”

Tommy hips jumped and he thrust into Oliver’s fist. “Yeah – just like that.” Oliver’s hips snapped again, and he cried, “Right there.”

Oliver released Tommy’s hand and got up onto his elbow. He kissed Tommy’s neck and then thrust sharply. “Here?”

“Oh, god, yes,” Tommy cried. “Ollie.”

Felicity was mesmerized as she watched Oliver completely wreck Tommy. She’d never seen Tommy tremble and shake the way he was as Oliver drove him to the edge. The only time she’d seen Oliver and Tommy use this position was when all three of them made love together for Tommy’s birthday. Tommy had enjoyed it on their vacation and Oliver seemed to have perfected his technique since, without her there.

“I’m close,” Tommy panted. “Kiss me.”

The angle was awkward, but Oliver and Tommy managed to seal their mouths together. Oliver’s hand moved faster over Tommy’s cock. Tommy cried out with pleasure, pushing back against Oliver’s cock before his back arched and he coated Oliver with his release. Oliver’s hand wiped against the sheets before he moved it up Tommy’s chest and grabbed hold of his shoulder. Oliver’s thrusts lost their rhythm, but he was using greater force as he drove into Tommy. His forehead fell between Tommy’s shoulders as he clung to him, his movements almost desperate as he chased his own release. Suddenly, Oliver’s head flew back, crying out, as he thrusted sharply into Tommy and held him close as he emptied himself.

Oliver’s grip on Tommy loosened and he collapsed against him. His lips found the back of Tommy’s neck and he whispered. “I love you. I love you – so much.”

“I love you,” Tommy said back.

Oliver hissed as he withdrew, pulling on Tommy’s shoulder until he was on his back. Oliver rolled until he was in the cradle of Tommy’s legs, his hand threading through his hair. “I love you,” he said tenderly.

Tommy tilted his head and brushed his lips against Oliver’s. “This is everything I ever wanted. Thank you,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

“Hey,” Oliver kissed Tommy’s forehead. “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Felicity’s knees buckled as she watched them kiss. She grabbed at the wall to keep herself on her feet. Blood pounded in her ears and bile rose in her throat. _“If they are everything they need, what do they need me for?”_ the small voice in her head asked. With a racing heart, Felicity leaned against the wall and listened to Oliver and Tommy kiss. She chided herself for her reaction – her overreaction. Tommy and Oliver weren’t doing anything different than they’d done before with her. She’d made declarations of love and singular devotion when she’d made love to Oliver and Tommy alone and they’d made the same. She couldn’t count how many times Oliver had called her his everything – his always. She told herself it didn’t mean any less for him saying it to Tommy too. Her love for one didn’t diminish when she told the other how much she loved him – and yet – and yet, this felt different. It didn’t seem possible that there was enough room for her in the love she’d just witnessed between them.

Felicity’s phone vibrated in her pocket. She’d set a timer to remind herself to leave – holo tablet or no holo tablet. She took a deep breath and slowly slinked down the hallway. She couldn’t afford to be caught in the hallway – not now. She couldn’t face them feeling this raw – she didn’t have time to fall apart. Later, while they ate dinner and they told her about making love, she’d tell them that she’d watched and how it made her feel. This was the very reason they’d come up with a rule to tell the third whenever two of them had sex alone. She was allowing her fears to make her irrational. Everything would be fine.

“Don’t freak out,” she told herself as she silently slipped from their home. She reminded herself that they were nothing like her father.

 

Felicity ducked behind a pillar in the crowded ballroom. She stepped out of her five-inch heels and sighed with relief as her feet melted into the plush carpet. Her head fell back, resting against the pillar, and she closed her eyes. She was exhausted from socializing with the ballroom full of scientists after presenting on artificial intelligence and robotics. She’d been asked to speak about the commercial applications of the emerging technology and concerns about potential weaponization.

A man cleared his throat, drawing Felicity’s attention. “Hi, Felicity,” he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “I don’t know if you remember me.”

Felicity recognized the man immediately. He’d been a doctoral candidate and lecturer when she’d started at MIT. She’d also had an epic crush on him. “Dr. Magnus,” she said with a bright smile, “of course I remember you. You were my favorite T.A.”

“Will, please. I’m not your T.A. anymore,” he said, extending his hand.

Felicity shook Will’s hand and studied the man she’d harbored an immense crush on as a teenager. Will had been a child prodigy too, attending Caltech when he was thirteen. He’d received his first doctorate in theoretical mathematics before he could legally drink. He was working on a doctorate in mechanical engineering when she’d first met him at MIT. He’d been twenty-three when she’d arrived in Cambridge at fifteen. Felicity had found him devastatingly handsome with his thick wavy auburn hair and chocolate brown eyes. Ten years later, Will was still handsome, but his overall appearance couldn’t be further from Oliver and Tommy. Where she considered her guys rugged, Will was more delicate. His cheekbones could cut glass and his pouty lips had given Felicity many a daydream when she’d sat in Professor Strom’s Abstract Algebra course. Will was what she imagined all tragic romantic poets looked like.

“It’s so good to see you again,” Felicity said genuinely. “Where are you these days? Last I heard, you took a sabbatical from Caltech.”

“Still at Caltech – just not in the classroom. I’m working on a robotics project for the military. When I saw you were presenting, I decided to come to Metropolis to hear one of my favorite former students speak.”

Felicity groaned. “I hope I wasn’t too awful. Working at QC has given me the chance to present more, but I still feel like I’m tripping over my tongue whenever I speak to a room with more than five people.”

Will smiled kindly,” I hardly recognized you up there. You were very poised, and you didn’t say frack – not even once.”

Felicity covered her face as she remembered defending her masters’ thesis. “God, I still can’t believe I swore during my orals.”

Will laughed, “You were never dull. It was refreshing. You weren’t dull today either – even without the cussing.”

Felicity nervously reached for her long ponytail. The silky-smooth strands falling through her fingers helped to remind her she wasn’t the same frazzled, frizzy-haired girl Will had once known. She’d come a long way from wide-eyed fifteen-year-old in overalls.  “I’m still the same me – just new packaging – and a slightly better brain to mouth filter.”

“As soon as you started speaking, I remembered the enthusiasm and passion of the student who sat in the front row with her hand up. You’ve accomplished quite a lot within QC. It was a good choice for you.”

“Were you terribly disappointed I didn’t go for my PhD?” she asked. Felicity remembered the fight they’d had in his office when she’d told him she wasn’t going to pursue her PhD in favor of taking a job. He couldn’t understand how she could turn down the opportunity to continue studying for something as crass as money. He’d grown up comfortably middle class and couldn’t understand how safe it had made her feel when she’d received offer letters from QC, Merlyn Global, Kord Industries and Wayne Enterprises. At twenty, she’d been offered a salary that was three times what her mom was earning. When she’d factored the money in with everything that had happened with Cooper, it had been a no-brainer to take the job and turn down the PhD.

“No, I wasn’t disappointed,” he said with a sad smile. “I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. I was worried that you were allowing the trauma of what happened with Cooper to dictate your future. You went from black to bubblegum pink lipstick overnight. He made his choices and I thought you were throwing your future away on misplaced guilt. I was concerned you were going to wake up one day and regret walking away from the opportunities you’d been offered. You have an incredible mind and I didn’t want to see it wasted in a corporation. I can see that I was worried for nothing.”

Felicity wasn’t eager to revisit the days following Cooper’s suicide, especially not with Tommy’s recent admission about his own suicide attempt. “I’m very lucky. Walter Steele saw something in me,” she said. “Without him, I wouldn’t have had any of the opportunities that led me here.”

Will frowned and shook his head, “Don’t sell yourself short. You would’ve gone far with or without QC. It’s QC that should be grateful you went to them instead of one of their competitors.”

“Thank you.” Felicity turned her head, giving herself a moment to regain her composure. Will’s words were unexpectedly powerful. She didn’t know if it was because he’d been a teacher she’d admired or because she was feeling a bit delicate since she’d walked in on Oliver and Tommy earlier in the week. She’d been waiting for them to tell her about the morning they’d spent together, but they’d remained silent. She’d been walking around with a pit in her stomach – like she was falling from a great height. It was nice to hear that she was valued for being herself.

“Are you okay?” Will asked with concern. He gently squeezed her arm. “Do you need to sit down? You look pale.”

“I’m fine.” She forced a smile to her face, “Just a little light headed. I didn’t eat today – just in case. I didn’t want to hack on stage from nerves.”

Will’s eyes lit up. “The concierge told me the best pizza place in all of Metropolis is two blocks way.”

Pizza sounded perfect. Felicity was ready to shed her identity as a corporate executive and just be Felicity the nerd. “I have always wanted to find out if Metropolis’ pizza is really better than Chicago’s.”

Will held Felicity’s arm as she stepped back into her shoes. “Excellent. We’ll call this, pizza test number one.”

Felicity laughed, “Always the scientist.”

She tried not to think about how her skin still tingled where Will’s fingers had touched her.

 

“What’s the verdict?” Will asked as she swallowed her first bite.

“It’s really, really good,” Felicity said, wiping a napkin across her lips.

“Better than Chicago?” Will asked.

“I don’t think so – but it’s hard to be sure without the pizzas side by side. We should be doing a blind taste test,” she said around another mouthful of pizza. “What do you think?”

“I think I love whichever pizza I’m with,” Will said with a wink.

Felicity put down her slice, unsure if Will was flirting with her. Yes, he was older than her, but eight years didn’t seem like that many, not now – not when he was no longer grading her exams. She took a sip of her root beer. “Are you still with Cindy?” Felicity remembered the dark-haired Harvard grad student Will had been dating when they were all in Cambridge. She absently wondered if Cindy had been Tommy’s biology T.A. before she forced herself to push all thoughts of her boyfriends aside.

Will shook his head. “We got married – and divorced. Her research took her to Iceland. The distance proved to be too much.” He pulled out his phone and showed Felicity a picture of Cindy with a man and a toddler. “She remarried – had a baby – she’s very happy.”

“Are you seeing someone?” she asked.

Will shrugged, “Yes. Her name is Amanda. She’s a surgeon. We’re not in love, but we have an arrangement. We attend work functions together – the occasional family gathering. We have sex when our schedules align, but we’re not strictly exclusive. It works for us. What about you?”

Felicity was a little shocked by Will’s revelation. His arrangement sounded empty to her. She couldn’t imagine being emotionally disengaged from Oliver and Tommy, but then again, her heart wouldn’t ache so much if she wasn’t emotionally engaged. She was about to tell her well-rehearsed lie about not having time to date when she admitted, “I’m seeing two men.”

“Good for you,” Will said. “You’re too young to tie yourself down. Have some fun. Enjoy your success.”

“Recently, I’ve been thinking of ending things – or the end of things,” Felicity said, rubbing her forehead, unsure of how to explain how she was feeling since she’d realized Oliver and Tommy were having sex and not telling her about it. They had a rule about not being able to cheat on one another with one another, but she’d been thrown off balance when Tommy and Oliver hadn’t told her they’d made love the morning of her holo tablet demo. They might not be cheating on her, but they were keeping secrets and she didn’t like it. She was starting to wonder if there was an end date to the experiment the three of them had fallen into hearts first.

“Ending things with both or just one?” Will asked as he took a bite of pizza.

“Both.” Felicity began to tear up her napkin. Will had misunderstood the nature of her relationship with Oliver and Tommy, but she wasn’t going to correct him. She couldn’t tell him that she was part of a triad. There was too much at stake for her to confide in Will. “They’re both seeing someone else too – it’s our arrangement.”

“The arrangement isn’t working for you anymore?” Will asked without judgment.

A drop of condensation running down the side of her glass caught Felicity’s attention. Her finger traced along the drop’s path. She squeezed her eyes shut at the memory of Oliver’s tongue trailing up Tommy’s spine as they made love. “There are times when I fear they don’t care about me the way they care about the other person. Sometimes, I don’t know why they even want to be with me when they have the other person.” She laughed nervously. “I guess I’ve been feeling extraneous lately – an unnecessary redundancy in the system.”

“You’re in love with them.” Will leaned back in his chair. “That’s the trouble with these arrangements that start out about sex. If you let love into the equation, it complicates things. You don’t think they love you?”

Felicity’s phone vibrated on the table. Her screen lit up with a text from Tommy.

_How’d your speech go?_

Felicity removed her cell from the table and dropped it inside her purse. She smiled sheepishly at Will, “Sorry.”

Will launched into his thoughts on the joys of texting as an introvert and the ills of social media. Their conversation about love forgotten as they lost themselves amongst other topics.

The March wind was biting as they walked along the lake back to the hotel. “How does anyone live here?” Felicity asked through chattering teeth.

“Says the woman who lived in Boston for four years,” Will teased.

“I left as soon as I could. This desert girl prefers more temperate climates,” she replied.

“How does a desert girl survive all that rain in Starling?” Will asked with a smile.

Felicity loved Starling, even with all the rain. After years of being surrounded by the garish neon glow of the strip and the nearly colorless landscape of the neighborhood she grew up in, the lush greens of Starling quenched something her soul had thirsted for. Her garden in Cobble Hill was a riotous explosion of colorful flowers and green all year round. “The rain makes the sunny days all the sweeter.”

“You were always a bright-eyed optimist,” Will said, holding the door to their hotel open. “Fancy a nightcap?” he asked as they approached the bar.

“I better not. I still have jet lag and I have to meet someone for breakfast at the ungodly hour of six,” she said, feeling sorry for herself. It was a good thing that she had a soft spot for Lucius Fox. Only he could get her extend her trip by a night to have breakfast with him before the sun was even up.

Will hooked a finger around her pinky and tugged gently. “Do you want to come up to my room?” He stepped closer, his lips dropping to her ear, “No strings. Nothing complicated. You’re beautiful, smart, and funny. I know why I want to be with you tonight.”

The hair on the back of Felicity’s neck stood on end as her blood began to race through her veins. It would be so easy to say yes. It would be so easy to give into her curiosity about her teenaged fantasy. It would be so easy to betray the men she loved. Felicity took a step back. She wasn’t sure what was going on with her relationship with Tommy and Oliver, but she knew she wouldn’t do something she couldn’t undo. Will was sexy, and under different circumstances – like being single, she might even say yes, but not tonight. It wasn’t even tempting. She gently removed her hand from his grip and smiled, “Thank you, but no.”

“It was really great to see you. I think I’ll go get that drink.” Will kissed her cheek, “Goodnight, Felicity.”

“Night, Will.” Felicity watched him walk into the bar and join a group of scientists from their conference. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before making her way to the elevators.

Her cell vibrated and Felicity retrieved it from her purse. “Hey,” she answered.

“Hey,” Oliver answered. “How’d today go?”

“Speech went well. The Q&A was lively.” Felicity pushed the button to her floor and leaned against the elevator wall as she removed her shoes. “How was your day?”

“Still going,” he answered.

“Late meeting?” Felicity asked, concerned that he was out on patrol without her on comms.

“Don’t worry, Diggle’s keeping an eye on me and Roy is keeping me company. We’re just doing some research,” Oliver answered cryptically. “Tommy’s working. You’re in Metropolis. It seemed pointless to go home to an empty house.”

“Don’t stay out too late,” she said as the elevator doors opened, “you have a meeting with Finance at eight.”

“I know,” he said with amusement in his voice. “Mrs. LeRoy has texted me six times since I left the office to remind me.”

“Well, Jessica has learned the hard way that you can’t be trusted to remember an early appointment when I’m out of town,” Felicity said as she used her key to enter her room.

“You sound tired. Did you eat?” Oliver asked.

“I went for pizza,” she said. “Supposedly, it’s the best pizza in Metropolis.”

“Was it any good?” Oliver asked.

Felicity shrugged, even though Oliver couldn’t see her. “I guess. Mario’s is still better.”

“You sound a little homesick,” Oliver teased gently. “I can’t believe Mario’s is better than Metropolis’ finest.”

“Maybe a little.” Felicity fell backwards onto the bed. “I’m sick of this hotel room.”

“The jet can take you home tonight – you just need to call the pilots,” Oliver reminded her. “What good is it for us to be billionaires if we can’t bring our girl home when she’s homesick?”

Oliver referring to her as, “our girl,” made Felicity feel warm inside and reaffirmed her decision to retire to her room alone. “I promised Lucius I’d meet him for breakfast,” she said.

“You’re not leaving me for another man, are you?” Oliver said.

“What?” Felicity asked sitting up. Rationally, she knew he was teasing her the way he always did whenever she spoke or met with Lucius but considering what just happened in the lobby of the hotel, Oliver’s words hit too close to home.

“I know Lucius. He’s going to try and lure you away to Wayne Enterprise’s on Bruce’s behalf,” Oliver grumbled.

Felicity flopped back down, “Bruce doesn’t have anything I want.”

“I’m relieved to hear that. Tommy and I would be lost without you,” Oliver said.

“Are you sure?” Felicity asked, wiping the tears that had sprung to her eyes. She wanted to believe they needed her as much as she needed them.

“Hon, are you okay? Did something happen today?” Oliver sounded concerned.

“I went for pizza with a man – I didn’t say before – but it was with a man – someone I knew from MIT – he was my T.A.,” she said quickly. “I wanted you to know.”

Oliver was quiet for a few seconds. Felicity checked to see if the call was still connected. “Oliver, are you still there?”

“I’m here,” he said. “Felicity? Did – did you go on a date?”

Felicity covered her eyes with her hand. “No, it wasn’t a date. He was someone I haven’t seen since I graduated from MIT. I was hungry. He was hungry. It was pizza. I just didn’t want to keep it a secret. When I said I went for pizza, I didn’t say who with - that felt like a lie of omission.”

“Okay – thank you for telling me,” Oliver said. “I trust you. You don’t need to worry that I’ll be upset that you went to dinner with a male colleague.”

“He asked me to sleep with him,” Felicity blurted out. “Not at dinner – after, when we got back to the hotel. I said no, obviously.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Oliver asked. Felicity could hear him climbing a fire escape. “You sound funny.”

“You’re not going to say anything about another man wanting to sleep with me?” Felicity asked, surprised that Oliver seemed unconcerned with another man’s interest in her.

“Felicity, a lot of men want to sleep with you. I only care if you want to sleep with them.” Oliver’s breath hitched. “Did you want to sleep with him?”

“Not really,” Felicity said.

“That’s not a categorical no,” Oliver said.

“No, I didn’t want to sleep with him. I was flattered. It’s nice to be desired,” she said.

“Do you not feel desired?” Oliver asked, confusion clear in his voice. “Do Tommy and I not make you feel desired?”

Felicity rolled her face into her pillow. She hadn’t even had any alcohol and she was talking herself into trouble.

“Felicity, are you there?”

“No, and yes. You and Tommy make me feel desired. I don’t know why I said that – I’m tired.” The truth was, Oliver and Tommy never made her feel less than desired. She was having a bad week – it was messing with her head.

“Come home – tonight. Reschedule with Lucius,” Oliver said with some urgency.

“I’m not rescheduling with Lucius. I haven’t seen him in ages – it’s not the same on the phone.”

“It isn’t,” Oliver agreed. “Don’t go straight to the office tomorrow – come home first.”

“Oliver, you have your meeting with Finance.”

“I’ll reschedule.”

“You have to prep for the earnings call. I’ll see you after work,” she said.

“No late meetings tomorrow – for any of us. I’ll have Tommy swap nights with Thea. We’ll have dinner – just the three of us,” Oliver said.

“I’d like that. I miss you both,” Felicity said, tears spilling from her eyes.

“Felicity, I love you,” Oliver said.

“I love you too,” Felicity said.

“Hold on,” Oliver said. Felicity could hear Oliver’s side of the conversation with Dig. “Hon, my meeting is switching locations. I gotta go.”

“Make smart decisions,” she said.

“I’ll text you when I get home. Call Tommy, my phone’s been blowing up all night from him. He’s worried he hasn’t heard from you.”

“I’ll call him as soon as I hang up with you,” she promised. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Call me before you leave in the morning – please.”

“I’ll call you from the plane, I promise. Go, before you can’t find your meeting,” she said.

“Night,” Oliver said.

“Night,” Felicity said, the call disconnecting.

Felicity got up and got ready for bed before she called Tommy.

“Babe,” he said with relief. “I’ve missed you. How was your speech?”

“It went well.” Felicity clicked off the light and climbed beneath the covers. “I’m ready to come home.”

“Good. I’m ready for you to come home. I don’t have anyone to hold my hand as I fall asleep.”

She could picture Tommy leaning against the window in his office as he watched the floor of Verdant. “Oliver will hold your hand,” Felicity said through a yawn.

“It’s not the same,” he said. “I want to hold your hand.”

Felicity had trouble falling asleep in a bed by herself. Holding Tommy’s hand after a long day always made her relax and feel loved. “I want to hold your hand too.”

Tommy began to softly sing, _I Want to Hold Your Hand_. Felicity joined in on the second verse.

“I love you, babe,” Tommy said. “Get some sleep.”

“Tommy?”

“Yeah, babe.”

“Oliver and I aren’t going to work late tomorrow. We thought we could have dinner and stay in,” she said.

“I like that plan. I’ll get Thea or Rita to cover for me,” Tommy said. “Go to sleep.”

“Will you stay on until I fall asleep?” she asked, not wanting to be alone.

Tommy’s response was to begin singing, “They can’ take that away from me.”

Tears slid down Felicity’s cheek as she listened to Tommy quietly serenading her with the song he was singing the first time she realized she was in love with him. She was irrevocably in love with Oliver and Tommy, but she didn’t know how to make the fear go away. She didn’t know how to make herself believe them when they told her they loved her too. She didn’t know how to trust that they wouldn’t wake up and realize she wasn’t enough and decide to leave her – just like Coop – just like her dad. Every day the small ball of fear in her gut kept getting bigger and bigger. Her logical brain told her she should just tell the guys what she saw - what she was afraid of – but the small voice in her head told her that if she told them the truth it would give them the push they needed to realize they didn’t need her anymore.

“Don’t cry, babe,” Tommy said. “Tell me what’s wrong – maybe I can help.”

“I just really miss you and Oliver,” she said truthfully.

“We’re right here. You’ll be home in a few hours,” he said.

“I know,” she said through her sniffles.

“We’ll meet your plane and take you for breakfast,” he offered.

“No,” she said firmly. “Oliver has to meet with Finance. Don’t let him reschedule. Promise me. Besides, I’ll have had breakfast with Lucius.”

Tommy tried again. “Okay, Oliver will meet with Finance and I’ll take you to your second breakfast – you can pretend you’re a Hobbit. How does that sound?”

“Okay.” Felicity didn’t want to wait until the next night to see them both, but Oliver couldn’t reschedule his meeting. If she saw Tommy before she had to go into the office, she might feel more centered than she did right now.

“Good, now that we’ve got that settled, you need to get some sleep. I’m going to do my best Oliver impersonation. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Just listen to the sound of my voice, okay?”

Felicity couldn’t help but smile. Oliver was the one who liked to use breathing exercises to help her sleep. “Okay.” Felicity took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She was resolved to get her irrational fear under control. Oliver had taught her that nothing good ever came from fear. Fear was dangerous and insidious once it took control. She couldn’t afford to be ruled by fear.

“That’s my girl,” Tommy said. “Everything is going to be okay. You’ll be home tomorrow. Tomorrow night, Ollie and I will hold your hand all night. Take another deep breath for me.”

Felicity cleared her mind and focused on her breathing and the sound of Tommy’s voice until she fell asleep.

 

 The corporate jet was greeted by a typical Starling City downpour. Felicity sighed as water streamed along the window. The gray sky matched her mood. Elizabeth, the flight attendant smiled at Felicity. “It wouldn’t be home if it wasn’t raining.”

Felicity smiled sadly. “It might be time to visit my mom in Vegas. A little sunshine might do me good.”

“My husband and I are going to Hawaii in two weeks for our anniversary,” Elizabeth said as she held Felicity’s rain coat for her to slip on.

“Happy anniversary. I’ve never been to Hawaii. My mom has always wanted to go. I was thinking of taking her for her birthday – maybe I’ll do it this year.”

“I’m sure your mom would love it.” Elizabeth said over her shoulder as she walked towards the door.

Felicity waved to the pilot and co-pilot, “Thank you, Kyle and Mary. It was a good flight.”

“Welcome home, Felicity,” Kyle said to her.

“We’ll see you soon,” Mary said with a kind smile.

“Not too soon, I hope,” Felicity said.

Elizabeth stepped aside, “Someone seems eager to see you.”

Tommy stood on the top step with a large umbrella. His face lit up when he saw her and he held out his hand. “Hurry up, Smoak. I’m starving.”

Felicity took his hand and huddled against his side to avoid getting soaked. At the bottom of the stairs, Tommy picked up her suitcase that had been left by the ground crew. “I was thinking Archie’s for breakfast.”

“That’s cruel. I can’t have a bloody mary if I’m going into the office,” Felicity pouted.

Tommy opened the car door and held her close beneath the umbrella. His lips brushed against hers. “I’m hoping I can convince you to come home with me after breakfast and go back to bed.”

“I have to work,” she said against his lips.

“Work from home, please. I’ve missed you,” he said nuzzling her neck.

“Take me to Archie’s.”

 

Felicity scowled when she saw Oliver sitting at a table in Archie’s. Oliver laughed in response. He put his hands up when she arrived at the table. “Before you use your loud voice. I already met with Finance. Mrs. LeRoy moved up the meeting by an hour.”

Felicity sat in the chair beside Oliver’s. He grasped her hand beneath the table and gave it a squeeze. “How are the results?”

“They look good. I’ll show you later.” Oliver held the special’s menu towards Felicity. “Guess what they have today?”

The glint of amusement in Oliver’s eyes could only mean one thing. “Banana Foster’s pancakes?” Felicity took the menu to be sure. “It’s a breakfast miracle.”

Tommy chuckled. He reached across the table to take the menu from her. “No breakfast miracle for me,” he said with a pout. “I was hoping for crab benedict.”

They placed their order with the waitress. “Only coffee?” Felicity asked Oliver with concern. “Are you feeling okay?”

 “I had a green smoothie before I met with finance,” Oliver answered with a grin.

Felicity pretended to gag. The smell of Oliver’s green smoothies was usually enough to trigger her gag reflex. “Why are you frowning?” Felicity asked Tommy.

Tommy rubbed his tummy with a small pout on his lips. “I shouldn’t have ordered the French toast. Maybe I should switch to smoothies.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “I’m sure we can think of a few ways to burn off all those carbs.”

Tommy grinned. “You want to go for a run?”

Oliver’s heated gaze focused on Felicity as he answered Tommy’s question. “I was thinking we could stay a little closer to home and show Felicity how much we missed her.”

“I like the way you think,” Tommy said.

“I have to work,” Felicity said with far less conviction than she felt. “So do you.”

“There’s a small fortune’s worth of office equipment at our house. If it’s not there for working at home, what’s it there for?” Tommy challenged.

Tommy and Oliver’s hopeful and eager faces broke through her resistance. She didn’t need to be in the office to do what needed to be done. She could take the morning off to spend time with Oliver and Tommy. The way they were looking at her reminded her of why they all worked. There was no doubt in her mind that they were in love with her. She’d been foolish to allow her fears of abandonment to taint their relationship.

Felicity took a long sip of her bloody mary. “I’ll work from home on one condition – actually,” she looked up and held up her fingers, “four conditions.”

Oliver stroked his chin as he considered her conditions. “Four?”

“Yep,” she said innocently before taking another exaggerated sip of her drink through the straw.

“You drive a hard bargain, but I think we can meet your demands,” Oliver said, fighting a smile.

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, thank God there are two of us. We’d never be able to keep up with you on our own,” Tommy teased.

Their conversation was interrupted by the waitress delivering Felicity and Tommy’s breakfast. Her heart fluttered as Oliver and Tommy both sent her a wink. Tommy was right. She should be thanking God for the two of them and not just because of their ability to meet her conditions. She was loved more than she ever dreamed possible. Her fears were irrational, and she wasn’t going to dwell on what happened earlier in the week. She was going to focus on their promise of what awaited as soon as she got home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Your kudos and comments are what keep me writing and are always appreciated.
> 
> There is a light at the end of the tunnel. The work project I've spent the last 18 months on is two weeks away from being complete. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back into a more regular routine with my updates.
> 
> Prompts are encouraged.
> 
> You can also come say hi to me on tumblr. I'm always happy to answer questions about this verse or anything else Arrow. http://realityisoverrated-fic.tumblr.com


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